”Braceros” to get back pay

One of the oft-ignored ignored subjects in the U.S. post-World War II industrial boom was that of the Mexican “braceros.” The guest worker program ran for 22 years and it laid the groundwork for the labor force used in the U.S agrarian industry.

There was also a dark side to the “bracero” program in that workers were often abused and exploited with almost no recourse to fall back on. Yet a recent class action settlement could serve to rectify some of those wrongs:

Under a settlement announced this week, braceros living in the United States who worked from Jan. 1, 1942, through Dec. 31, 1946, will be able to file claims for about $3,500 in compensation from the Mexican government.

A U.S. District Court judge gave preliminary approval to the settlement of a class action lawsuit last Friday. Attorneys representing former braceros are now mounting a national campaign to get other laborers to file monetary claims…

"For decades in this country, lawyers and others have heard complaints from bracero workers that not only were they treated abysmally but that their wages were never fully paid to them," said Matthew J. Piers, an attorney with Chicago-based Hughes, Socol, Piers, Resnick & Dym, the firm that originated the lawsuit.

Eagle-eyed readers may’ve noted a potential problem with the settlement in that it will only cover workers who labored during five of the program’s 22-year run. This has upset some former “braceros” who will not be covered by the arrangement though others feel that it’s “a small battle” won after years of legal wrangling in the U.S. and Mexico.

Image- New York Times (“Braceros, here in 1963, were often farmhands.”)
Sources- Los Angeles Times, PBS, seattlepi.com, thecalifornian.com